Magic Thief
by Bell Marilli
Summary: Xena has the potential to be a thief, but she doesn't want to be one. And without knowing it, she's slowly stealing someone's heart. [BraixenxFrogadier] Yes, I know it's a strange pairing, but give it a try.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** No, don't even _ask_ me why I've been gone. I just suddenly got a new idea, okay? Okay. Done. Read on.

Weird pairings? Yup. I like StarterxStarter, but I can't imagine having to pair up Chespin's evolutionary line with any of the starters, so BraixenxFrogadier it is. It's a weird pairing, but you know what? Shut up.

Also, Magician is the Hidden Ability of the Fennekin evolutionary line. When the target is hit with the move, the user (who has Magician) will get the target's item. And this is Klefki's hidden ability too.

This is on an island that is created by me: Mystaria.

So welcome and enjoy.

* * *

The Braixen panted, running through the flowers as she heard footsteps behind her. _No. Don't catch me. I won't be worth your time. _She reached the river and blinked. Turning her head slightly, she saw the Houndoom stepping cautiously after her. It thought it was stealthy enough. But the Braixen was sharper than anything could ever be.

She turned and leapt to the other side of the river, when she saw a rafflesia right beside her. She whipped out the twig from her bushy tail and prepared to fling any attack on it when a familiar voice called out. "Hey! Xena! It's only me!"

The Braixen named Xena blinked. "Oh, it's you, Ria." She set back her stick on her tail. Ria the Vileplume huffily stood up. "Sorry. I was running away from the Houndoom. He's after me again. Me, the Ultimate Thief..."

Ria looked at her best friend in sadness. "You aren't the Ultimate Thief intentionally..."

Xena had been born with the special Hidden Ability: Magician. She hated it. She didn't want to take what wasn't hers, if it wasn't a gift. Xena sighed, shaking her head, looking away. Ria always said it wasn't her own fault, but Xena never believed her.

"Whatever. Stupid Houndoom can't come over anyway. C'mon, Ria. Let's head over there." Xena turned over to a small wooden hut that was her home. Her parents were out currently, and they were very busy. She had one baby sister, a Fennekin, named Candice. But Candice liked huddling up in her room.

"Why does your house have no doors inside? The only door is the front door," Ria said, skipping along as Xena walked calmly over to her hut.

"There's no need for doors."

"There are toilets."

"The only male in the house is Papa, and he usually takes baths very late. Plus, the bathrooms are in our rooms, not in the hallways, so Papa won't chance upon us bathing. And yes, we have our own rooms."

"I _know_ that, Xena." The Braixen turned to glare at her best friend. "Oh, roses! I have something on! Roses! So many freaking roses! I'm so sorry, Xena, but I have to go babysit my brother!" Ria panicked.

"It's all right. Why do you use roses as a swear word again?"

"Because they smell so good! Gotta go, Xena! Don't forget to get a mate while I'm gone!"

Xena growled as the Vileplume skittered off. Ria had been telling Xena to get a boyfriend—because Xena was extremely gorgeous, according to her best friend. But Xena didn't _want_ one.

Angered, Xena yanked out her stick, friction setting the twig alight. She shot an Ember at a patch of amaryllises—her favorite flowers, but she didn't care. She watched them burn and glared at the burning flowers in agitation. _Stupid Ria. Don't tell me what to do!_

"Excuse me."

Xena snapped out of her anger and saw a Frogadier standing in front of her. "Um... yes?" she asked politely.

The Frogadier made a strange sound. "You burned my patch of amaryllises, Miss."

_It belonged to someone?_ Sheepishly, Xena folded her arms. "I-I'm sorry. Uh..."

"No, it's fine, Miss. I just don't want you to go around burning random flowers. Some other owners of them might not be as kind as me, and you might get into trouble," the Frogadier replied.

"Oh. Well. Thank you very much. My name is Xena. What might be your name?" This was a nice Frogadier. If she knew his name, then she would remember his kindness.

"The name's Ford. You have a very nice name, Miss Xena."

A faint pink splashed over Xena's cheeks. "Oh, u-uh... thank you, Ford. And Xena is just fine."

Ford blinked and nodded. "All right, Xena. I live just there, by the way."

Xena turned to see a familiar-looking hut.

_Oh._

_He's been my neighbor for all these years... and I didn't know!_

"You're my _neighbor_?" It spilled out of her before Xena could control it. The Braixen blinked, and covered her mouth with her paw. "Oh, I mean—"

"Yes, I know you're my neighbor," Ford replied, cutting her off. "I've seen you a lot of times before, but I never thought that you'd... oh, never mind me, will you? You're very pretty, by the way, Xena."

The faint pink excelled to a firm pink. "Thank you very much..." she muttered quietly. Why did everybody say that about her?

...But somehow, hearing that from him... made her believe it.

Ford clicked his tongue. "Then I'll see you around, Xena. I'll have to replace those amaryllises."

Xena turned to burnt amaryllises. The fire had stopped, but they were absolutely black. It looked as if if you touched it, it would just break into ash.

"I'm sor—"

"Don't apologize, Xena. I already said it's fine."

Xena blinked at Ford stupidly. (She had never recalled being so stupid. _In her entire life_.) "Oh. You did? Oh... you did. All right, I won't apologize anymore, Ford."

"Good," Ford said happily. "See you around, Xena."

As Ford hopped off, Xena placed a hand on her chest. Her heart had begun beating rapidly.

_Why is it beating so fast?_

It began to slow down already, but the period Ford was around...

_I don't think I'm having a disease or anything._

But...

_If that's not it, then what is it?_


	2. Chapter 2

Quietly pawing the ground, Xena stared in front of the ground she was sitting on, legs crossed.

Two weeks.

Two weeks since she had met... him.

They met every day after that, and Xena's heart still pounded wildly the same way it did when she first met him. She never knew what it was—she didn't think it was very important, anyway. She tried to ignore it and have a conversation with Ford, but, well... it was hard.

_Pit, pat._

She was waiting for him to come out. He liked the rain. She didn't, but if it meant meeting him, then she would be highly glad to do so.

_Pit, pat._

But she had been waiting for twenty minutes. Was he really coming out?

_Pit, pat._

Maybe not. _He never promised that he's always come out, anyway..._

_Pit, pat._

Standing up again, Xena shook her wet fur, just to have it get wet again. Growling angrily, Xena tossed her head and turned back to her house. She didn't have the courage to knock on Ford's door, anyway. She might as well go home if he didn't want to see her!

...Why did she even want to see him?

Xena dismissed the thought quickly.

She stepped on the porch, placed a paw on the door, but before she opened it, a voice called out.

"Ooh... who's that pretty one over there?"

Xena whirled around, seeing a Seviper slither towards her. She stepped backwards cautiously. "Who are you?"

The Seviper hissed. "Don't struggle..."

The next minute, Xena sent him flying with a Psychic. She slammed open the door and ran inside, looking for her parents. They would end this creepy Seviper. She pushed open their bedroom door and jumped to where they were sitting down and writing something.

Her mother looked at her in surprise. "Xena, darling, what happened—"

"Someone—a Seviper—" Xena couldn't decide on what to say, but the Seviper had already slithered in anyway.

"You left the front door op—ahh... I can see why you did that... sneaky little fox..." the Seviper hissed.

"Viper!" Xena's mother growled, shooting to her feet. "Mystaria's infamous womanizer... you're not going to get our daughter, are you?"

"Of course I am..." Viper chuckled. "I'll bring _both_ of you on... if you refuse... to let me have her..."

Xena pushed herself into a corner. Her father growled. "Silly Viper. Do you think we'll let you?"

It happened all so fast. Suddenly, Viper was on the floor, panting and gasping for air. Xena blinked. _Eh?_ Her parents were _this_ strong? She had such a long way to go, then. Well, it probably didn't help that Xena refused to evolve. She thought Delphox weren't as charming as Braixen.

"Oh gosh... thanks..." Xena breathed. "That was... uhm, scary."

"I know—don't let him get you, darling," her mother told her. "He'll use his infamous Attract—it's foolproof, unfortunately. But it doesn't work against a male, so you can keep one of them close to you. About time you got a mate, anyway."

Xena stared at the floor moodily. A male? She'd _definitely_ have to meet up with Ford, then. She didn't like depending on others, but... well, it had to be done. She ran past Viper, and out of the house, into the rain again.

"Xena!"

The Braixen spun around, and beamed brightly. "Ford!" she breathed, running over and crushing him into a hug. Ford choked into her uncharacteristic action. "I was so worried you wouldn't show up..."

Ford blinked and pushed her away slightly. "You were _waiting_ for me? _In the rain_?"

Xena nodded blankly. "Yes..."

The Frogadier sighed. "You silly... you don't like the rain and you..." He couldn't find the right words. "Why would you bother waiting for me, anyway, Xena? I can find you on my own, you know."

Xena smiled. "I don't want to put you through all that trouble—but I'm glad to see you! You know, Viper made a move on me, but I used Psychic on him—must've hurt for him, but I don't care—then I ran to my parents, and he was _gone_, just like that! It was amazing, Ford!"

"Viper... made a move on you?"

Ford's eyes seemed to rapidly darken. Xena stared at him and nodded uncertainly. "Uh... yeah..."

He turned away, as if thinking. Xena waited uncertainly. He looked back at her, and shook his head.

"Never mind, Xena. Just be more careful. You don't want to end up as a victim."

"Of course I don't! I won't let him, anyway!" Xena giggled. "I was thinking if you'd like to come to the stream with me!"

"In the rain?"

"Yeah! I'll be fine! I don't like the rain, but it's not harmful to me!" Xena motioned for him to follow her and danced towards the stream. Ford followed her. As Xena made her way to the stream, she thought to herself... about many questions she herself couldn't answer.

_Why am I so uncharacteristic around him?_

_Why has it been two weeks and I have yet to discover anything?_

_Why is it only with him that I feel this way?_

Stupidly enough, Xena hadn't noticed she was already at the stream, and fell _right into the water_. Letting out a shrill shriek, Xena hit the water surface and sunk below. Ford dove in after her immediately.

_I'm an idiot!_ Xena screamed in her head. _And I can't swim!_

The stream wasn't deep, but Xena probably couldn't get back up anyway. She hit the bottom, and tried to keep in as much oxygen as she could. She just had to survive as long as she could. And that was fine.

And, she couldn't see a _thing_ underneath here. The trees all shaded the sunlight, so there wasn't any light for her to see.

Suddenly, something curled around her waist. Xena blinked, and she was being carried out of the water. Slowly, but steadily, out, out, and out... until that creature brought her out of the stream. Spluttering, Xena turned to her savior.

"F-Ford!"

"You silly..." Ford said in a disapproving tone, setting Xena down on the grass again. "Watch where you're going."

_Ford saved me._

Heat rose to Xena's cheeks as she stared blankly at Ford. She couldn't say anything. She just stood there, completely drenched, watching as Ford waited for her reply.

_This feeling..._

"Xena?"

_It can't be._

"Are you all right?"

Snapping out of her daydream-like state, Xena nodded. "Yes! I'm all right! Thank you very much, Ford!"

_So that's why it took me so long to figure it out._

"Then stop staring."

_Because I've never experienced it before._

Playfully, the Frogadier shot a Water Gun at her. Shrieking in retaliation, Xena let out a weak Ember, so she wouldn't hurt Ford too much.

_It's because I love him._


	3. Chapter 3

If anything, Xena found it relatively surprising she liked someone—someone at _all_, and a Frogadier to top it off. (She wasn't very fond of frogs, you know.) She was the type of person who could find something to complain about all the time—the Complain Queen, some people might say. The Braixen simply ignored what everyone said—after all, it was too bad for _them_ if they couldn't find anything to complain about. Her mother had once said it was "unhealthy" to be unsatisfied with life all the time and should learn to "appreciate" what she had currently, and say that Xena was simply jealous of what other people had they she didn't. Well, Xena wouldn't deny that she got jealous—_a lot_—but she wasn't about to listen to this unhealthy being unsatisfied and appreciate what she had and... all that crap. (Simply admitting the fact that she got jealous was actually a great feat for many Pokemon.) She liked complaining, and hating people because of what and complained about, and that was that. Three examples:

The female Flygon. Xena hated her for being so strong and able to cut through iron effortlessly. Her name was Edolie... or something like that.

The male Lapras. Xena hated him for helping humans and helping them across large bodies of water. Name? Mather? Something like that.

The female Azumarill. Xena hated her for having that sharp hearing and knowing the latest gossip and having observant eyes. Her name was something silly like Zuzure, or something else silly.

Well, whatever.

The thing was, Xena was trying to find something to complain and hate about Ford. Yes, Ford. If her love kept up, she'd continue looking like a miserable fool to everyone. If she found something to hate and complain about Ford, then she didn't have to bother about loving him anymore. And then she could go back to her normal life, being chased by a Houndoom because of her ability to steal and nearly accidentally attacking Ria. And that would be lovely.

Well, if she hadn't burnt Ford's amaryllises, she wouldn't have fallen for him. So, it was technically _her_ fault. And because of that, she found it hard to go around hating Ford, because it was simply her fault. What made it worse was that Ford was forgiving and didn't _mind_ the fact that she burnt his amaryllises down to nothing. Plus, it was hard to find Ford a "hate factor" because, in Xena's eyes, he was basically perfect.

She went to do what _most_ (not all, mind you) females would do—talk to one of their closest friends.

"You're trying to find a _hate factor_ on your _crush_?" Ria squinted at her best friend, wondering, for a split second, if the Braixen was truly sane or not. She decided not to question it further, because she'd probably never get the answer.

"Yes," Xena said airily, in such a manner that told the Vileplume that _she didn't care_. "I don't want to love him, but I don't know what to hate him for."

"Well, Xena," Ria began, trying to find some fancy-sounding phrases and sentences that would (hopefully) make her friend buy it, "you probably can't hate him, judging your preferences, and the way he... uh... acts to you." And that was an incredibly difficult task, as Ria was all for simple lines.

"What do you mean?" Xena asked, peering curiously at the Vileplume, seemingly interested. "You're saying I _can't_ hate him... because of my preferences of the way he acts to me? What do you mean?"

Ria shrugged. "Well... everyone has their preferences, you know. I presume... that you simply like the way he treats you. Therefore, you can't find anything to hate him for."

"...So what do you suggest I do, then?"

"Just forget about the whole trying-to-hate-my-crush thing, because that's just impossible! I mean... if it _were_ possible... you'd find something soon, right? If you're still persistent, why not you try observing him? You might be able to find something you can hate him for."

Xena's head snapped up. "Good idea, Ria!"

The Vileplume sniffed. "I don't think it'll work, though—"

The Braixen had already disappeared.

* * *

Sitting on top of a branch, clutching the stem of the tree to ensure that even if the branch snapped under her weight, she still had a chance of holding on to the tree, Xena watched Ford water the new amaryllises with a gentle Water Gun. Xena wondered why he even did plant flowers—usually Grass-types did that, after all. For a Water-type to do that, it was simply the strangest.

_No "hate factor" yet._ Much to Xena's dismay, though.

...So, what if she couldn't hate him? Would she be living this life forever and ever? Xena clenched her teeth. _No, I'll find one—I know I'll find one!_

A Roselia hopped along the path, near the Frogadier. She turned to the Frogadier and beamed brightly at him. "Hi, Ford!"

Ford jumped to see the Roselia, and then nodded, acknowledging her presence. "Hello, Rose."

Such a simple—and common—name for a Roselia: Rose. Ria would definitely make an enemy out of this one. Curious, Xena leaned forward. So this Rose knew Ford? How come she had never seen Rose, for the time that she had spent time with Ford?

"Planting amaryllises, Ford?" Rose smiled. "I thought you would've liked planting roses..."

"No, I don't. Why?" Ford asked.

Rose's crush on Ford was so obvious. Xena snickered from the tree branch, and when she heard a snapping found, swiftly jumped to another branch, that did not suit her as much, but it would have to do.

"Oh well... are you planting those amaryllises for someone?" Rose asked dreamily.

"Maybe."

And Ford's dislike for Rose was as obvious as Rose's crush on Ford. Xena would have burst out laughing if she hadn't known she had to control her laughter, lest she be caught.

Rose was unsatisfied. "So? Is it for someone or not? If it is, then who is it for?"

Ford was annoyed. "You can stop bugging me about it, because I'm not going to answer those questions."

And... the Roselia either was oblivious to his hate for her, or she just ignored it. "You're so mean, Ford!" Rose exclaimed dramatically, folding her arms and turning her head to the side. "Hmph!" With that, she left, but Xena had a feeling Rose would return again... someday.

Unable to find something Xena would call "hate factors" on Ford, she slid down from the tree carefully, then darted away before Ford noticed her.

She did notice how Ford treated her and Rose _much_ differently. She liked how Ford treated her... but the question was:

Why would he treat her differently?


	4. Chapter 4

A quiet sigh escaped the Braixen's lips as she flopped over the cute table that resembled a tree trunk. Obviously not one, but just resembling one, and crafted in such a way that it looks really like one. It was too short for Xena, but just right for Ria, being a Vileplume. Lazily, the Fox Pokemon grabbed the yellow pen and drew something that in a strange way, resembled a very distorted chicken. Then, in her best effort, she took the red pen and neatly drew a vixen next to it. The vixen appeared to be shredding the chicken to bits, explaining why so little effort was put in while drawing the chicken. Xena smiled at the picture.

_Rose would be the chicken._

Ria looked at the drawn picture and sighed, rolling her eyes. Again, her best friend was daydreaming.

_I would be the vixen._

The center of Ria's rafflesia bubbled. Xena, too caught up in her daydreaming, didn't notice it.

_The prey and the predator..?_

While Xena admired her drawing, Ria shot out a vicious, bubbling Sludge Bomb. Xena's head snapped up, reacting to the gurgling sound of the poison, and blasted it away with her own Psychic. Ria ducked, dodging the splattering acid that shortly disappeared after being blown away by the Braixen's Psychic. Growling softly, Xena folded her arms and turned her head away in arrogance, snorting.

"What was _that_ for?" the Braixen asked in her most demanding voice.

"You were daydreaming," Ria said shortly. "You said you'd try and create a list on what to hate Ford on. That's what _you_ said, at least."

"Yes, I _did_ say that, Ria. But I never said to spit some Sludge Bomb at me. I said to call my name if I wasn't paying attention!" Xena snapped heatedly, glaring back down on the Vileplume in a non-serious manner. The Flower Pokemon returned it with a release of very stinky and unwanted air. "_Ugh_! Ria!"

"I called your name four times, Xena," Ria said shortly. "You wouldn't pay attention, though."

"It smells like you _farted_, Ria! Absorb it back in!"

"I can't do that."

"Argh!" Xena covered her snout with her paw, threw open the door and darted out.

Ria, blinking from inside of her house, called out, "Close the door next time!"

The Vileplume only wanted the Braixen to realize that she couldn't hate her crush, after all.

* * *

"Stupid damned Vileplume... aren't best friends supposed to be supportive? Not shooting out some foul air in the same room..." Xena muttered, taking in fresh air—and treating it like it was a gift from Arceus. "I suppose she's my best friend, but just not the typical best friends _most_ people have..."

"Hello!" a cheery voice greeted from behind her. Xena, irritated, turned around and saw Zuzure—that one Azumarill who knew everything that happened in the village. "You must be Xena! Aren't you?"

"Yes," Xena replied shortly. As she mentioned sometime ago, she didn't hold a liking for this Azumarill. "If there's nothing you need to tell me, then please, with all due respect, leave me alone. I am, in fact, needing some privacy."

Zuzure tipped her head to her right, smiling. "But I can help you!" Now curious, Xena blinked at the Azumarill. "You see, I overheard from a conversation between you and Ria—well, I think it's Ria, it sounded like her—and I heard that you like Ford—"

Xena cut her off. "Why were you eavesdropping?!"

The Azumarill made an indignant sound. "It's not _my_ fault my hearing is so good! Sometimes I hear things I don't even want to hear... anyways, I'm here to give you a little help... or something that you _might_ consider help, considering on your attitude."

Xena nodded sharply. "On with it, then!"

"I'm just trying to help..." Zuzure said defensively. "Well, I heard that Rose—you know that Roselia?—has a major crush on Ford, and I think he knows about it, but you know... earlier today, Rose confessed... I think."

Xena blinked. She had seen Rose yesterday, when Ford was looking after his amaryllises. She hadn't seen Ford or Rose this entire day so far—well, she had been with Ria most of the time.

"When Ford rejected her, Rose—I think she started crying. Her voice sounded wobbly and choked. She asked why not. It's either because Ford was tired of her or was saying the truth, but he said he liked someone already."

"_What_?!"

"Xena, calm down. He could have been saying that to get Rose off his tail... does he even _have_ a tail?" Zuzure looked admiringly at her own zigzag tail with a blue sphere at the end. "Well, whatever. It was just something I heard today."

Xena controlled herself from releasing all her anger. "Is that all?"

Zuzure nodded. "Yep, that's all!"

So... maybe the Azumarill wasn't so bad after all. "All right... thank you, Zuzure." She couldn't quite believe she was saying that, either.

"Oh... um, you're welcome." It was as if the Aqua Rabbit Pokemon hadn't been expecting that—she probably _hadn't_, judging by how Xena always had been giving her snarky remarks in the past.

Xena felt that she and Zuzure would be able to get along just fine in the future, but right now, she had run off already, searching for the Frogadier.

After all, she just _needed_ to know who he liked.


	5. Chapter 5

Maybe Xena just was pissy. Maybe Xena just didn't want to admit the fact that she, too, was flawed. Maybe Xena just wanted to think herself highly among others. Maybe Xena just had too much time on her hands. Maybe Xena was a "it's either hate or love" type of person. Maybe...

"Hello? Xena, are you all right?"

...Well, maybe a lot of things. But now she was just gawking in front of her, disbelieving the kindness overload that was shoved in her face.

"Xena?"

"Er." Xena coughed, straightening her back a little. "Yeah?"

Edolie the Flygon blinked at Xena, before smiling. "For a moment I thought you had fainted."

Remember how Xena said she hated this Flygon?

Well, she took that _all_ back now.

"I didn't faint. I was just... thinking." It was the truth. She _had_ been thinking. Well... she had no idea why she had gone to Edolie to ask for advice about Ford. Maybe it was because Zuzure had first proven her wrong about that whole complaining thing anyway?

"Well... I see. In any case, I only know a bit about Rose." Edolie gave a halfhearted smile. "But that bit is probably a very important bit to you. Rose has known Ford for a couple of months. Maybe four or five. She likes him—a lot, you know—and has tried to get his attention, but Ford just doesn't like her. It might be because she's a Grass-type, or her personality is one to avoid, or she's just plain out irritating. I don't know."

"And?" Xena was looking for more information. "His crush?"

"Definitely not Rose," Edolie laughed. "Look—I'm not too sure on this info, and I'm sure Zuzure would have been able to help you more. But you know, Ford's an old childhood friend of mine, so I'll talk to him later and see if I can find anything out."

"He's your childhood friend?"

"A touchy subject, but yes," Edolie replied, smiling slightly. "We've lost contact for a bit, so I wonder how much he's changed already? The last time I saw him, I was still a Vibrava, you know."

"_That_ long?" Xena blinked at the amount of time Edolie and Ford had lost contact—how did they even _do_ that? And then Xena found herself asking a stupid question. "Did you ever like him?"

Edolie blinked. "If you're talking about romantically wise... no, never. I _loved_ him as a friend, but no, not romantically wise. Never. He had enough females pining over him, anyway."

Xena stared slightly. "What the... so I'm not weird? Why do a lot of them like him?"

"Because of his attitude and personality, probably." Edolie shrugged. "Most of them were captivated by that. Even as a Froakie, of course. I was pretty puzzled back then. But seeing as how I've matured, I can probably tell why already..."

"So I'm not the only one."

"You can bet there are tons others apart from Rose."

"Rivals." Xena clenched her teeth, thinking pleasantly how she would rip them apart, one by one. However, with that many crushes, was it safe to assume the the Frogadier might like one of them? Nah... Ford could like anyone under the sun. "Thank you very much, Edolie. You've been of a great help."

"No problem, Xena." Edolie beamed. "If I can find out anything else, I'll tell you for sure."

Being stupid again, Xena decided to think the impossible. "Would it be possible if... he liked... _you_?"

"_No_!"

The sudden reply shocked Xena, and the Fox Pokemon watched the Flygon stabilize her breath.

Edolie exhaled. "I'm sorry... it's just that... there's no way he'd like me in return, Xena. The reason why we lost contact is... troublesome. He's _shunned_ me, Xena. Shunning me means that he doesn't want to talk to me. I... well, I guess I was hoping he might... _not_ shun me anymore, and that's why I'm going to try and talk to him."

Xena looked sympathetically at her. "What happened, if I may know?"

Edolie looked at the floor for a moment. "No... I don't think I'm prepared to let anyone know, Xena."

* * *

_So something's happened between Ford and Edolie.  
_

Xena now knew that, but Edolie looked sad, miserable, melancholic, maybe a hint of _depression_. It was impossible. It sounded as if something horrible had happened, and Ford either hated Edolie now, or... avoided her for some other reason.

But... Ford wasn't so cold.

She had tried looking for Zuzure, but the Azumarill was busy currently, at the bazaar, learning the latest juicy gossip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Ria, who might not be able to help her much. She understood her best friend was trying to help, but... well, it was hard for her to understand how she was trying to help.

So she headed over to Ford, the next thing she decided to do.

Well, maybe she was just lost in her thoughts, because she nearly stepped on a certain patch of amaryllises.

"Xena!"

The familiar voice rang out, causing Xena to instinctively whirl around, nearly lose her footing, and took a while to adjust herself. She saw the Frogadier hop over, panicked. "Oh, uh, hi, Ford!"

"My amaryllises... nearly destroyed... by you.. again."

"Well, _sorry_ you put them in such a vulnerable place..." Xena snapped sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She had mastered the ability not to stutter while he was around anymore. "Why would you put them here?"

"Why shouldn't I put them here?"

"You're avoiding the question..." Xena dared to add, "And you know it!" but stopped herself.

"Well, amaryllises are mostly for show, aren't they? What's the point if they can't be seen by everyone?" Ford pointed out. "Plus, I didn't see you yesterday, you know, Xena. Did something happen?"

She should have known he would have asked that. But she wasn't expecting it. "I was—uh—chatting with Edolie?" The questioning tone at the end was a dead giveaway, but Ford seemed to sucked up to the name "Edolie" then he probably didn't even notice.

The Frogadier pushed Xena away from the amaryllises, checking if they were all right, at the same time asking, "Edolie, the Flygon?"

_Best to act dumb now._ "Yes, the Flygon—do you know her, possibly?"

"She was... an old friend." Ford pretended to be immersed with his amaryllises.

Xena seized the opportunity to learn more. She was curious, by nature, of course. Even if it didn't help her in any way, it would ease her itching curiosity. "An old friend? Did something happen?"

"In a way... yes." Before Xena could ask more questions, Ford beat her to it. "What did she say?"

"Well... I... uhm, mentioned you to her, and she told me how a lot of females were pining over you... or something."

"And?"

"A-And that she never liked you... _romantically_."

"Why would she tell you that?"

_Oh shit. _"Oh, um, since she was an old friend, I... uh... asked her."

"Whether or not she liked me."

_I'm in so much shit._ "Yeah."

Luckily, Ford didn't seem to bother. "Well, whatever. Do you want to go to the creek now?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** And so, my darling readers, I apologize for being gone for so long. I do have my reasons though, and from here on, it's safe to expect regular updates again. Enjoy!

* * *

Well, Xena found out it may not be the best while she was still trying to figure out who Ford liked (if he even liked someone, he could have just told Rose that to get her to buzz off) and still hang out with him, because she was utterly, 100%, distracted. She nearly fell into the creek (again) but there was an ugly Stunfisk inside which... well, magically stopped her fall. Maybe it was her dislike for ugly things.

Picking up a random stone, bumpy and uneven, the Braixen flung it into the creek. The Frogadier watched her, and the ripple that followed after the sunken stone. Xena sat down next to him and placed her paws on her knees.

"Say, Ford, are you going to evolve?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just that you seem to have the potential to evolve but you haven't yet."

"I suppose I want to linger in this form a bit more before I do."

Xena picked up a random twig and bit into it. "Why would you want to linger in that form? Greninja is much stronger than Frogadier, and can learn a lot more moves! Plus, if you learn any Dark-type moves, the power will be greater."

"I understand that, but... I suppose it's awkward."

"Hmm?"

"You know, when I evolved from a Froakie into a Frogadier, when I came home from my training—which led to my evolution—everyone was pretty shocked and it was weird telling them who I was and things like that, and it was hard for them to get used to it. I suppose I'm... not ready for that again, because I know their reactions. Besides, it's not proper respect to evolve into your final evolution until you're fifteen or older."

Xena gawked at him sideways. "You _care_ about proper respect, Ford? Geez... As if _anyone_ cares about that... _thing_... these days. Even I don't. Besides, I evolved when my family was around me. It was only after I evolved that I started leaving home for the day and coming home at night."

Ford shrugged. "You're still close to them?"

"Um... yeah. My parents worry like heck when I'm out, and I don't mean to worry them, but I don't feel like staying at home and burning wood for training. It gets boring. Before I evolved, I never had any friends, not even Ria, because I never went out. I would rather stick with my family then, you see. After I evolved, I went exploring outside—something I could rarely do before I evolved, and when I did do that, it wasn't very far—and I met Ria, who was already a Vileplume. Proper respect doesn't matter for her because she doesn't live with her parents—she just sits in the tall grass at night and sleeps and chases others away by releasing awful-smelling gases as she sleeps—but she does use her parent's house sometimes, I suppose... they let her in, but she rarely comes by, and prefers to stay out. She lives with her younger brother in the wild. I met her by this creek and we became fast friends really fast and I came out of the house more often, and I met more people. I didn't like them all, though." Xena picked up a stone with a pattern on it made by erosion and admired it.

"And even after all that, your parents _still_ worry about you?"

"Yeah—they think outside is 'dangerous' and all that stuff, but they can't exactly stop me from going out. Once a Pokemon reaches the age of ten, they're dubbed strong enough to withstand dangers of the outside world. But they still worry I'll get kidnapped, or something—especially after the Viper incident, I suppose... What about you? Why do _you_ stay outside? If it's just to take care of your precious amaryllises, then I'll have to laugh at you."

"My parents chased me out of the house."

Xena dropped the pretty stone and gaped at him—he seemed to be giving her a lot of shocks that day. "_What_?"

Ford shrugged. "After I became ten—which was after I evolved, just so you know—they just kicked me out and told me I could only come back at night. They felt like pampering my younger sister, who still hasn't evolved yet, and didn't want my presence to be 'disturbing' them. I picked up planting flowers as a result of that."

"That's _horrible_!"

"I've grown used to it."

"Why do you plant amaryllises, though? There are tons of other pretty flowers to plant..."

"You don't find amaryllises pretty?"

"_No_—they're my favorite flowers! But you don't find any other flower pretty? Out of all the other flowers, why the amaryllis?"

"It was just convenient—there were a bunch growing in my garden, so I took some of them."

"_Thief_!"

"You're not one to talk."

"How would you know? It's not like I've stolen anything in particular yet. I just have a good ability to steal, but that doesn't mean I _have_ stolen!"

"I wasn't technically being a thief, anyway. They're in _my_ garden so they're _my_ amaryllises, doesn't it make any sense? Besides, if my parents allowed me to, then no, it can't be classified as 'stealing', then," Ford reasoned.

Xena sighed, tilting her head sideways, picking up another rock to throw it into the creek. "I suppose you're right..."

Ford snorted slightly. "It's getting late—you're not going home?"

The Braixen turned to look at him, and didn't turn away again like the other times. "I'm not going home until _you_ go home, because you just told me you've been kicked out of the house, and don't you feel lonely? They don't care about what time I come back, anyway! They let me roam as much as I what, though they worry—"

"See? They're worrying. They _do_ care about what time you come back. On the other hand, they _want_ me out of the house until midnight—"

"_Midnight_?!"

"Shh. Keep quiet. And anyway, I have my own things I might like to do alone."

Xena sniffed, looking up at the sky. It was around eight. "Well, I'm definitely not leaving, especially if you're by yourself for four hours! I don't care if you have things you'd prefer to do alone; you can do them with me if you're desperate!"

Ford shook his head. "As I said, I'd prefer to do them alone. Not even with you."

That one actually hurt. "You do some stuff without me? I mean, you'd _rather_ do something stuff _without_ me? That's plain mean. What can one enjoy by themselves? If there's some magical activity, do inform me. I'd like to know."

"Showering?"

"You're going to _shower_?" Xena stared at him blankly.

"Hm... not really. Just splashing in the creek for no reason and hanging out in the water until midnight. You don't like water, do you? That's why I said I prefer to do them myself."

"So... you prefer to do it by yourself because I don't like it. If it were another Water-type, would you allow it to stay?"

"No, anyway. It'd be late and they'd be tired," Ford responded. "But they could hang slightly longer, until ten, maybe? It depends on their age, too. The thing I'm saying is, you're a Fire-type, who absolutely hates water, and Pokemon like you should have early sleep."

_He isn't chasing me away just because he doesn't want me, right..?_

Xena rolled her eyes at him, but said nothing.

_Ugh! I wish I was a Delphox, and be a Psychic-type, so I could look into his mind!_

"Well, I don't care if you're gonna hang in the creek, then you might as well do something else, right?" Xena said stubbornly, looking across the creek, a large smile curving her lips. "Say, have you ever been to the other side of the creek before?"

"No... have you? Apparently it's dangerous."

"Not really! I've been there before, it's only a couple of Houndoom that's there." Xena stood up. "But it's really pretty, I have to admit. I'll take you over there! C'mon, it's not dangerous—especially for a Water-type like you!"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Xena—"

"It's fine!" Xena shushed him. "Just stay by me and you'll be fine—I've gone there tons of times before, with Ria!"

She grabbed his hand and darted off.


	7. Chapter 7

"Xena, I _really_ think this isn't a good idea—"

"Don't be such a chicken! I've been here with Ria thousands of times—and she's weak to fire, but we're still okay! As long as you follow me, we'll be fine," Xena reassured him, leaping further into the forest.

"How long have you been going there?"

"Since last year, exactly on this day. Why?"

"Okay, Xena, we should _really_ stop now."

Xena frowned, opening her mouth, then Ford shook his head and tore his wrist away from her grip. The Braixen frowned. "What's the big deal? They're always in their cave, and the scenery is _really_ pretty!"

The Frogadier sighed. "Do you know about a Houndoom's burns?"

"Yup! If they add some toxin to it, then burn their target, it'll hurt forever! Well, what about it? Were you burned by one of those toxic flames?" Xena asked curiously, tilting her head.

"No. But there _is_ one way to make the pain stop."

"There is?!"

"Houndoom can produce something called the Doom Charm—if someone grinds it to powder, adds it to water and drinks it, the burn will stop hurting. Basically, it's the best poison-curer. Even an Antidote from the humans can't help those burns. However, humans don't know about this medicine—they call it the Charm Powder, it's a silly name, but they aren't very creative—because only _wild_ Houndoom have the motivation to make it. Every year, the Houndoom pack starts from the very beginning of the day to midnight, creating Doom Charms. They need five Houndoom gathered around a fire, and then they have to Howl, and then _something_, I don't remember, but thing is, if you're caught then, you're up against the entire pack. We head back now."

Xena sighed. "All right, fine."

As they turned around, dark blurs shot past them, surrounding them. Xena took a step backwards, turning around, and knew they were trapped.

By Houndoom.

"Not a chance," one voice rang out. Xena whirled to that direction, and saw a shiny Houndoom. Its fur coat was a blue, and one of the brighter blues, making it stand out. It was probably the leader. Snarling, the shiny Houndoom lowered its head. "You've stepped past the creek, into our territory, while _knowing_ it. If you wandered here absently I suppose we could have let you go, but you knew you were stepping on our territory. We can't let you go."

"Leader Hellgar," one of them barked out, "it seems that this Braixen has trespassed many times, with a Vileplume. She has been trespassing for a long time."

"Do you just want to burn in hell's flames?!" Hellgar growled at Xena, making the Braixen flinch. "Do you think you can trespass into our territory just as you please? _Huh_?! Well, it's time to put an end to that!"

Xena squeaked, shielding her eyes, waiting for the pounce.

It never came.

The shiny Houndoom, Hellgar, tossed his head. "Your friend can be saved, though," he told her. "Was your friend willing to come here, or unwilling?"

The Braixen clenched her fists. "I _wanted_ him to come here! Honest! He was all against it! We were just about to leave when you guys showed up! Let him go! Please, he's done _nothing_ wrong! You have to let him go!"

"Shut up," Hellgar snapped. He turned to the other Houndoom. "Let the Frogadier go. But, if you return, Frogadier," Hellgar sneered, "you'll be with this little Braixen until her execution date comes round."

"Please, just let him go!" Xena begged. "Ford, just go on without me! Really! This one was my fault!"

"I said, _shut up_!" Hellgar barked at her. "Let the Frogadier go home, _make him leave right now_. If you don't want to leave that's fine too, you can join your friend over here. You're given twenty seconds to decide what you want to do!"

_Go home_, Xena mouthed to Ford. The Frogadier looked at her in a strange way, perhaps it was meant to convey something, but Xena was too panicked to scrutinize it.

"..."

"I couldn't hear ya," Hellgar snarled.

"...I'll... go home."

Xena let out a sigh of relief, watching as the other Houndoom parted to let Ford bounce away. They reformed the circle, and Xena was by herself now.

"We're going back to our base now," Hellgar told the other Houndoom. "Braixen, walk in our circle as we walk."

"Uh..."

They began walking and Xena immediately shot forward to keep up with them. She was extremely nervous right now, and wondered if she should take the chance and run away. She blinked at the ground, clutching her fists. She was an idiot to bring Ford here. Now she was going to be executed (she hoped they wouldn't really do that) because of all the times she had intruded with Ria before.

Speaking of Ria... She had abandoned her best friend for Ford for a long while now. Ria was just there, as a Vileplume, and nothing more to Xena when she was around Ford, which was nearly all the time.

_I never got to say sorry..._

"What's your name, Braixen?" Hellgar's voice cut through her thoughts. Xena lifted her head.

"Xena," she said clearly, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight tremble in her voice.

"_Xena_?" Hellgar turned to face her. "The one Boss has been trying to capture for years? The one with the Ability Magician, the one with the potential to steal? Ha! You got away from Riria that time by jumping over the river, didn't you?"

That was the day she had met Ford. Xena nodded. "Yes, I think that's me... Who's 'Boss'?"

"Boss is the boss of our pack," Hellgar said airily. "Leaders like me are usually shiny—they say being shiny is a blessing. There are currently five leaders right now, and I control a much bigger portion of the pack, but I only decided to bring a few of them."

"W-What's going to happen to me?" Her most fearful question yet.

"Didn't I mention it earlier?" Hellgar growled. "You're going to stay in a prison—until your execution date comes round!"

* * *

Ford reached the creek and jumped over it. He looked at the sky. It was nine. It was dark. Nonetheless, Ford jumped into the creek, diving down to control his bottled up fury and concern for the Braixen. She had brought him there, and now she was going to be executed. It was her fault, but she didn't deserve to die like that. If anything, Ford had already resolved to save her.

He didn't know what to do, though. Should he just prance in? But he didn't know where the prison cells were... that wasn't a good idea. But who would know?

"Hiya, Ford! Something up?" a cheerful voice called out. The Frogadier turned to see an Azumarill pop out from the water.

"Just swimming in the river to pass time. Why are you swimming here?"

"Not swimming. I'm just floating." Oh, of course. Azumarill could naturally float in water without any effort. Zuzure spared him a grin before tilting her head. "I was wondering if anything was bothering you."

"No. Nothing. Why would you think that?"

"Because I heard you getting involved with the Houndoom pack."

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap crap. He completely forgot about Zuzure's fantastic hearing. "Well, yes," Ford began slowly. "Xena dragged me there, and now they've imprisoned her and she's about to be executed."

Zuzure automatically figured it out. "And you want to save her?"

"Yes."

"Hm. All right. I'll help you." The Azumarill grinned at Ford's stunned expression. "Hey, I can hear them now, you know! She's going to be executed in exactly one month! Typical Houndoom, always making things so dragged out." Zuzure giggled. "Two of us can't infiltrate it alone, you know! You're going to have to find some others. Houndoom are strong, and there are lots of them in the Houndoom pack. When you're done getting help from others, you can come visit me here. I'll go along with you immediately!"

"Oh... well, thank you, Zuzure. Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Oh... sure. Are you heading home now?"

Zuzure shook her head. "I don't like going back to my house. I'm contented with floating in the river all night."

"Oh... all right."

Ford got out of the creek. Zuzure watched him go. "Are you going to get help now?"

"Yes. The sooner, the better."

"Okay. Good luck."

Ford left, knowing who he had to ask. But he really disliked the thought of asking that person.


	8. Chapter 8

The prison was, of course, very uncomfortable, unhygienic, as small as a cubicle in the public bathroom, and guarded.

The floor was made of dirt, with only a bit of stones in there. Preventing her from escaping were the usual bars made of who-knows-what and a small, rectangular hole to shove food inside for her.

The worst thing was, Xena was chained to an iron ball. She could melt it, but the Houndoom outside would notice if she did it in one blow.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to sleep in this god-awful prison..." she muttered. There was a small stone slab at the back of the cell, but it was so tiny Xena decided it was est used as a pillow. "Argh, couldn't they have expanded it, and at least put _two_ Pokemon in each cell..."

"We can hear you, you little skank!" one of the Houndoom roared from outside.

Contrary to her previous fear, Xena was now full of rage. "I'm not a _skank_!" she yelled back, gripping the bars in fury. "You're the imbeciles for not even putting up some electrical fence or something! And now _you__'re_ blaming me for intruding into your home! Well, haven't you _ever_ heard of sharing, you good-for-nothing?!"

"_Shut up_!" the other Houndoom barked. "That includes you, Dark." He snarled at the other Houndoom menacingly.

"Sorry, Demon. Just got to put the skank in the right place."

"I told you, I'm no skank! If you only just—"

"_I said shut up_!" Demon roared. "Both of you, quiet! Not a sound. The royal one is coming to visit each cell, and we must make sure that they are in top condition. Though... I do not have much respect for her."

"Neither do I," Dark replied.

Xena nearly burnt through the metal bars unintentionally, due to her anger. From the entrance, she saw a figure appearing, blocking the light. She squinted at the rays that weren't blocked and immediately looked away.

"A new prisoner, so fast? You really have to be lenient with your rules, now..."

It wasn't a Houndoom.

It was a Gardevoir.

Xena nearly unleashed a Flamethrower in all her rage. The Gardevoir stepped forward and nodded towards the both of them. "She looks fine. Though I must tell you, prisoner, that my name is Guarder. I belong to the royal ones of Mystaria and have permission to check on every prisoner to see if they are in fine conditions."

"Xena," the Braixen spat at Guarder. "If you'd be so kind, break me out of this jail. I was merely put because I happened to tread on this filthy land. ...It _is_ very beautiful, but only allowing us to see it is just plain selfish."

"Well, if we can argue on that, perhaps we can get you out," Guarder mused. "It must have been Hellgar. Hah... he will not give in easily. If you want to escape, your best chance is..."

Guarder's eyes glowed. Xena withdrew, growling at the supposed royal Gardevoir.

"...trust."

"_Trust_?!" Xena spat in the Gardevoir's face. "Oh, well, that's funny! Who is there to trust in this cramped cell? _**Absolutely no one**_! Unless you're telling me these two buffoon guards will miraculously let me go and become part of a rebel, then it's absolutely impossible! And there's no way that... that... that he would..."

Xena bit on her tongue. Guarder smiled.

"You're exactly right."

"About the rebel?"

"No. The last part. You were thinking correctly. You were thinking your friends might save you, right?" Guarder asked gently.

Xena withdrew even further, shaking her head. This time not in defiance or refusal, but in confusion. "T-There's no way _that's_ possible! I-It's was just some kind of stupid pipe dream I thought of for a second! After all, I... I led him right into this danger, and if anyone has to rescue me, it'll be me. I'll solve my own way out. I always do. By myself."

Guarder shook her head. "This time not. That's what I said, I believe. Trust and be patient. Now," Guarder said, standing up, and with a fierce glint in her eye, she continued. "I have finished my telepathic communication with this Braixen. I shall move on now."

"Yes, thank you," they barked.

Xena stared after Guarder. That whole conversation had been telepathic? Well... that was truly strange...

Not that she was complaining, of course.

* * *

"How could you get my best friend in trouble?!" Ria groaned, rolling in the grass. Zuzure looked in amusement as the Vileplume continued to wail. Edolie looked no less amused, and Mather (the Lapras, in case you might have forgotten) simply looked at them. "You're horrible! I should never have left her in the hands of her crush! I knew something would happen?"

"Her crush?"

"No, I didn't say anything. I totally meant 'crush' as in 'crushing paper'," Ria mocked sarcastically. "Well, let's do some Houndoom-buttock-kicking, and they're gonna _pay_ for imprisoning my best friend!"

An angry Ria was a scary Ria, Ford mentally noted.

They traveled across the creek into the dangerous territory. Zuzure led the way, being the bravest, marched forward. Edolie was in the back. Ford still was hesitant, wondering about earlier, and how he had persuaded the Flygon to help.

_Nervously knocking on the door, Ford was sure that if he succeeded this time, he'd give himself a million years worth of... amaryllises. To plant and nurture. Exhaling as the door opened, he began, "Look, Edolie, I'm—"_

_"Oh, it's you, Ford!"_

_Oh, dear. She was already a Flygon, and Ford was still (pitifully) a Frogadier. Edolie beamed at him. She had greeted him just like last time, just like she always would. "Come in, come in! Honestly, I didn't expect you!"_

_Ford tried to hold back a "of course you didn't". "Uh, yeah. Well, I meant to say, I'm sorry for... uhm, ignoring you all these years."_

_"Nope, it's fine," Edolie replied. "I've managed to be free for much longer periods now and get much more training! I've already become a Flygon, see? And you're still a Frogadier! Well, come battle me when you're a Greninja, though I'll be sure to stomp you!"_

_"Right..." Ford sighed. "Sorry about... injuring your brother."_

_"Don't apologize to me," Edolie said cheerfully, "but to my brother. He's completely fine, though. Still admires you. You're lucky. What did you want here?"_

_Ford tensed. "Your... uh, help."_

_"Help? Of course I'll help!"_

_... ... ..._

_After explaining the situation, Edolie immediately nodded. "Of course I'll help!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Xena recently became a good friend of mine, so really, why not? Let's go, then! There are others coming with us, right?"_

_"Right."_

_"Then we're fine. Let's go!"_

He still hadn't apologized to her brother.

Before he could think back anymore, a Gardevoir appeared before them. She hissed lightly.

"You have come here to save Xena? You must hurry. She has managed to push her execution date to today. There was a mistake in the communication," the Gardevoir said. "You must hurry to save her, or her life will be lost."

* * *

**A/N:** So I've been off for a while since I'm lazy. Oh well, at least we're getting closer to the end—yes, you heard me, we're nearing the end of this story.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **And when I said "nearing the end", I meant "probably ends around Chapter 10". :) We need the drama pause in between chapters.

Ah, well, when I look at it some way... there's not going to be a sequel, either, since I've got nothing to write a sequel for. In that case, I better start thinking of a whole new idea, or, if I'm lucky, get some idea crash on my head.

* * *

"I don't like that Gardevoir," Zuzure sniffed.

"You only _just_ met her," Edolie pointed out, huffing. "How can you say that so quick? That's horribly mean!"

"No, but did you see her attitude? And she just left _right away_! Gosh, if she was going to tell us that, at least _help_ us!" Zuzure snapped. "She makes me mad—so mad. But in all honesty... I didn't think there would be a miscommunication of an execution date. That's really rare."

"Then we're just unlucky—_Hide_!" The last word was a hiss from the Flygon as she shoved them all behind one of the random piled rocks. Ford stiffened. What did Edolie see? Mather was supposed to be the lookout...

The Frogadier turned to Edolie. "Uh, what happened? What did you see?"

Edolie narrowed her eyes. "Saw nothing. Felt something. There was a disturbance in the vibration in the surrounding air... I've been flapping my wings constantly, which creates a vibration, and I can feel the vibration... in the... air..." Her voice got softer and softer.

"So there was a disturbance?"

"Yup," Edolie replied. "But the vibration doesn't go very far, so I can't sense the entire field. Mather is looking out for... uh, voices or huge towers that might have guards on 'em."

"Sorry, Ford," Mather said, smiling slightly. "I'm only here for that and Safeguard."

"Great," Ford muttered. "Shouldn't we be keeping quiet, then?"

"Well, considering they're just over there..." Squinting over the rocks slightly, Edolie continued, "...yes."

It was silent for a moment before voices were heard. "Well, that was a terrible miscommunication! But good on my side, Demon, I'll have to guard less. Guarding is boring," a Houndoom stated boredly.

The other Houndoom growled. "It wasn't a miscommunication, Dark, it was done on purpose, decided by the leaders."

The first Houndoom—Dark?—made a surprised sound. "Hm? Why would they want to do that?" he asked, scuffling along the gravel path. "Purpose miscommunication? Unheard of, for all my years in the Houndoom pack. I've been here since I was _born_!"

The second Houndoom—Demon, probably—snorted. "Well, execution rarely comes by... How old are you, Dark?"

"Fifteen."

"Huh," Demon huffed. "Well, this thing was established by the leaders eighteen years ago. Miscommunication would purposely be put up for the victim—the one to be executed. It's very complicated, and fools our allies—but we, being Houndoom, are always cruel. So, after a year I hatched... that means sixteen years ago, someone was to be executed. I don't know who—my mother didn't tell me much—but they said they would be executed in a year."

"Why haven't I heard of that one..?" Dark murmured. "It is my first time witnessing a execution... Will they have everything explained?"

"Yes, they will—immediately before the execution takes place." Ford, by now, had noticed they were stopping to have a decent conversation. "About the execution sixteen years ago—they were executed in a week."

"Why would they do that?"

"To get the hopes of the victim up. They want to make the victim assume someone could possibly rescue them within such a long time period—then they crush their hopes by claiming it was a 'miscommunication'. Not that it particularly matters."

"Hm," Dark mused. "Well, that's rather... interesting. And now, you little group over there, you've heard our story, so why don't you come out now?"

"H-He's noticed us?" Ria mumbled, paling.

"It appears so," Edolie mumbled. "We'll have to fight."

"I'll stay behind and make sure no one comes up suddenly," Zuzure volunteered.

They nodded—and immediately sprung out.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have Ria battle—but her poison could be lethal, and very helpful. Because she was half Poison-type, she was immune to the permanent stings Houndoom could give.

It was even better that Mather started with a Safeguard, protecting them from those nasty poisonous burns. The permanent sting was a side effect—Safeguard shielded side effects like that (it was similar to the "Poisoned" status, after all).

"So you _were_ hiding!" Dark crowed triumphantly, leaping into the air.

Ria tackled them with a Toxic. Dark got badly poisoned—Demon did not. Instead, Demon unleashed a Flamethrower—only to have it blocked Mather's Water Pulse. The only one who was _really_ attacking was Ford, who was shooting random Water Pulses at every chance he got.

"_Caught you_!" A triumphant voice sang. Edolie delivered a mean Stone Edge to Demon—officially putting him out of battle. "I figured he'd be the harder one, so taking him out would be smart."

"Then we shall head over to Ford now," Ria stated bluntly. She turned to Dark, who was coping fairly well and had a new tactic, releasing Dark Pulses in all directions whenever Ford seemed to strike. Without paying attention much, Ria shot a random Sludge Bomb. She was lucky—it hit him. It would be a fairly short battle if it kept up like this...

Maybe they were just too overpowered? And Zuzure was staying out of the fight. And that Azumarill was a _mean tank_.

Unfortunately, Dark was sharper than he seemed. He noticed his ally was knocked unconscious, leapt away, and howled for help. Immediately, more Houndoom poured in to join. Ford anxiously backed away. Two wasn't that hard—but it looked like an entire group.

"It's you again," a voice growled. Two Houndoom picked up Demon and scurried off. Hellgar stepped out of the crowd. "I warned you to stay away, you disgusting brat who treads on our territory."

"You're the one who brought Xena away," Ford snarled angrily.

"Well, it does seem I carted off with your girlfriend the last time..." Hellgar mused, then shaking his head, he sighed. "But it doesn't matter now. I assume you might know of the 'miscommunication'."

"We do, and that's plain mean, you lying, filthy bunch of fu—" Ria raged, until Mather held her back.

"We're here to save our friend Xena," Mather said, struggling to hold the livid Vileplume back. "We'd appreciate it if you'd just let us pass right now. Because that would save a lot of pain and trouble. For both sides of us."

"Shut up," Hellgar snarled. Mather slowly began to back away. "You guys have been going on for quite a while. But you end here. I can't believe it—you'd risk this much for an undeserving friend? Your loyalty astounds me. It'll end this way."

"Hurry, Mather!" a voice shouted. They whipped around to see Mather tunneling into a hole behind the rocks they had been hiding behind earlier. Zuzure turned to them immediately. "C'mon guys! Get into the hole!"

So she had been Digging while they had been fighting.

Zuzure leapt onto the scene, letting out the most terrifying bellow an adorable bunny like her could produce—which was, surprisingly, frightening—and they started attacking. "Guys, get into the stupid hole!" Zuzure yelled as she kicked the circle of Houndoom off of her with an Aqua Tail.

Edolie picked Ria up and shoved her into the hole. It was fairly large, enough for all of them to fit inside. Once Ford had jumped in, Edolie watched as Zuzure fought them off with continuous Aqua Tails. She flapped over and picked the Azumarill up and dropped her near the hole.

"Fools!" Hellgar barked. "You should have gone after those who had gone into the hole! After them! NOW!"

"Get into the hole first!" Zuzure hissed. Wasting no time, Edolie dived into the hole and tunneled right in. Zuzure immediately set out a Surf, washing aside all the Houndoom nearby, and went after them. She made sure to dig the sand from behind her to block the pathway. It would make them waste time into digging further.

"Mather should be near the end already," Zuzure called out to Edolie. "I made sure it was a safe spot, so pass on the message and tell him to just wait for us!"

"Right," Edolie muttered. As soon as she did that, she said, "I suppose we'll be digging pretty fast, then."

"Nope, not at all," Zuzure grunted. "We'll be digging at super-speed."

* * *

The sun was nearly setting.

Well, it wasn't in the center of the sky anymore. Xena looked at it emptily. At sunset, she would be executed with one of the deadliest poisons while she stood on the pedestal. Grunting, she turned her head aside as she quietly whimpered.

Why did she have to do that?

As in, be so foolish...

_Well, whatever. It saves me the trouble of having to grow up...__ I mean, being adult-y was never my cup of tea._

The sun was going down painfully slowly. Xena frowned. Pictures of Ria filled her mind as she let out a wobbly sigh, earning her a glare from the guard Houndoom next to her. She pushed it aside. Ria had been a really good friend, throughout her life.

Then came Zuzure, the first to prove her wrong that not everyone was such a turd like Xena had first thought. Following after that, Edolie.

_I still wonder what happened between Ford and her..._

Then came Ford.

Oh Arceus, she had been praying so hard she wouldn't think about him...

She did, anyway.

She nearly let a tear escape. She didn't allow it to finish rolling down, though. She wiped it away quickly.

_I'm an idiot. Well, they have always wanted my ability, so they could steal of others after blackmailing me!_

... ... ...

_But if they execute me, how is that possible?_

_Do they... not care for my abilities anymore?_

_Argh!_

_Was I probably a threat to them, because of it? So they wanted to get rid of me?_

_Or they changed their minds, they didn't need me?_

_Or they found Klefki with it._

_Or... they wanted me in the beginning so they could execute me because they didn't like me._

_Bleh._

After pondering over it for a while, Xena noticed it was nearly sunset. The guards pushed her forward. "Step onto the pedestal. We'll begin preparing while you stand there," they growled.

Xena stepped onto the pedestal calmly. If they wanted to see weakness, submission, they weren't going to. Xena closed her eyes and smiled. If they really wanted that... considering their personalities... they probably wanted to see submission.

Even if it's a stupid one, her last wish is to annoy the heck out of them, so keeping calm would be great.

... ... ...

Fine, you probably saw through that one.

That would have to be her _second_-last wish. Her last one was...

She saw a gun-like cannon in front of her.

"It will begin in ten minutes!" one of the leaders barked.

_...Ford..._

"_Xena_!"

The high-pitched shriek of five voices smashed together resonated in her ears. Xena sharply gasped, taken aback.

Ford, Ria, Edolie, Zuzure, Mather.

They made it.

* * *

**A/N:** I was wrong, maybe we'll stop at Chapter 11. I dunno. I write too long...


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**Well, this came after I evolved my thing into a Togekiss, and right after that I tripped over the charger wire, dropped the 3DS, and delved straight into one of my "oh shit" moments. At least I got it to level fifty-two again.

That thing is too flimsy.

(Or I just have high expectations.)

* * *

_What are they doing here?!  
_

Xena gawked involuntarily at them, before shaking her head. She wanted to chase them away. To get them to run before they were killed. The Houndoom turned to the intruders and growled.

"_Wait_!" Xena yelled, stepping forward. "I didn't—I just—_Don't try to save me_!"

"Why not?" Ria demanded. "We'd be fools to leave you alone, Xena, we're your _friends_!"

"I don't recall being a very great friend to Xena, but all right," Mather said, nodding. "You just dragged me along, I'll have you remember."

"Don't try to save me," Xena repeated, more calmly this time. "I—I don't want you guys in danger. Just... Just go. I've already decided I'll accept the execution! H-Hurry up and leave!"

Zuzure pointed to Xena. "Stupid," she said to Edolie. The Flygon agreed with a nod of her head. "We've already made it so far, why should we run?"

Ria jumped forward, pushing the Houndoom by the cannon away by brute force. Before they could blow flames at her, she turned the cannon around and shot it just above Hellgar's head. Hellgar growled.

"You've no poison left. The execution cannot be performed. Just let us have our way and we'll go with you guys intact," the Vileplume said calmly.

"So what if we've no poison left?" another leader snarled. "We'll just kill her in an uncivilized manner."

"_Make way_!" Mather called out, shooting a short Hydro Pump to separate the Houndoom. Zuzure rushed forward to get Xena, and immediately hopped back. "Thank you very much, Zuzure."

"No problem," Zuzure said primly. "All right, Houndoom, won't you just let us go home? There is really no point in arguing for this one, 'cause I'll blow you all away."

Xena stared at gawked at the scene.

Her.

Rescued from execution.

Was she just lucky?

"Are you all right?" Ford asked worriedly.

"Just—Just fine," Xena blurted out. She turned to him. "Are _you_ all right? What did you do to get in here? Wasn't it... Wasn't it very hard? Surely they had more guards than that—right?"

"Nope, they were pansies," Zuzure replied as Ria bobbed her head in agreement. "We defeated a Houndoom named Demon—well, Edolie did—but before we could get Dark he called his buddies. Including that shiny one over there. Hellgar."

"You won't get away!" Hellgar growled. "I swear I'll—"

"Wait a second, my dear pack."

They all immediately parted. The intruders and the to-be-executed blinked at the upcoming, strange creature in which they had never seen before.

Zuzure voiced her thoughts a bit too fast.

"You're a mutated Houndoom!"

More like Satan personified?

The Mega Houndoom growled and bent his legs backwards. Though he probably knew there was absolutely no way he would win against an Azumarill, one of the most terrible dual-types a Houndoom could go against.

"I am _not_," he snapped irately. "I am the leader of the entire Houndoom pack."

"You mean the big bad boss?" Zuzure asked.

"Yes, the big bad boss," he confirmed. "While I cannot disclose my name to you, I will make... an agreement."

"Depends on what agreement," Mather answered for the too-shocked-and-unable-to-speak members beside him. "If it's utterly ridiculous, we'll get Zuzure to send you flying to Kanto."

"It won't be ridiculous!" the Mega Houndoom snarled. "Ahem... We will let you and that Braixen go unharmed, in one piece, with everything you have, back to your peaceful village, and even allow others to come into our territory, so long as they undergo some... security measures first."

"And in exchange?" Ria piped up.

"Nothing horribly big. You just have to come once a week to patrol around the areas. Some of our Houndoom are... slacking." The Mega Houndoom spat slightly at the end.

"Deal."

They watched as Xena nodded firmly. Zuzure immediately butted in.

"I agree! It's a good deal! Unless you're hiding something else from us, of course. You aren't going to pull that 'oh there's one more thing', are you?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"Certainly not. There is nothing much I am able to do with you, anyway, and I do think that these rules are silly."

"But you _made_ them!" Ria accused.

"Unfortunately, you are wrong there. I did not make these ridiculous rules. I have been gone for a period of time to enhance my powers, leaving the lesser leaders in charge, and they randomly, out of nowhere, made it up. I would have gladly accepted visitors if that was what they wanted."

"I apologize!" Hellgar yelped, bowing immediately. The other leaders mimicked his action.

"Disregard them for now, will you? We're... going to clean up this place for a bit, so would you mind leaving?" the Mega Houndoom asked bluntly.

"Of course not," Xena said, curtsying. "Thank you for all you've done."

"I will take them back."

Guarder appeared, before swinging her right arm horizontally across her chest, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for reconsidering your rules. I will take them back to the other side of the creek now."

Without waiting for any objections, they disappeared in a glimmer of light.

* * *

Reappearing back at the creek, Guarder turned to leave immediately. They watched as the silent Gardevoir left, and eventually disappeared into the thick woods. Right after, Ria latched herself onto her best friend and began wailing.

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH AND THAT NERVE OF YOURS, XENA!"

Edolie plucked the sobbing Vileplume off. "She's just being dramatic," she said, smiling. "She's been doing that ever since you left."

"Silly Ria," Xena muttered, smiling. "Well, I'm sorry for being such a stupid girl."

"You better be!" Zuzure said hotly. "I nearly became deaf when I heard you were kidnapped! I nearly sunk and suffocated in the creek!"

"Azumarill can't sink. They float naturally," Mather stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes they can, if I tried!"

"But you weren't trying suicide, were you? That was an expression of shock."

"So shocked I nearly forgot to float!" Zuzure snapped back in that _I win you lose end of conversation_ tone. Then, looking around, she added, "Where did that froggy go off to?"

Edolie flicked her head sideways. "Now that you mention it, he's not quite there..."

Xena waved it off. "Oh, don't worry. He's probably sulking in his room on how he nearly died." _Just kidding,_ she mentally added.

"Right," Edolie laughed. "Does he do that? He didn't last time. He _never_ sulked in his room."

"Things change," Xena said plainly.

"Well, we should go home and have some rest," Mather yawned. "It's been quite tiring, and digging through a hole is not very relaxing."

"It was harder for me who had to dig a Lapras-sized hole when I'm a puny Azumarill!" Zuzure shook her head. "I actually think I'll go home instead of relaxing in the creek this time. See ya guys."

Zuzure scampered off towards her home. Mather left to his underwater house. Edolie eventually left to take care of her parents, and Ria actually went home for the first time in a while to visit her younger brother.

Xena stayed behind at the creek, searching for a bunch of rocks to throw into the water, just like how she would with Ford the last time. She picked up a familiar one, one with the same pattern caused by erosion.

She threw it into the creek.

She let herself relax against the slippery and rocky bank and stared into the water, gazing into her distorted reflection. Was she that skinny? She really needed to start eating more instead of just grabbing small meals off the table...

"You're still up? Wouldn't you have gone home already to rest?"

"No way, Ford!" Xena stood up, clumsily stumbling on the slippery bank. She beamed at Ford, who had magically appeared. "This practically _is_ my home! I know Candice is probably worried sick about me, but she'll see I'm fine tomorrow."

"She'll have a hard time sleeping."

"Yup. Doesn't matter. My mother will use some funny trick to get her to sleep." Xena swung around and sat back down.

"If you fall back into the creek, I'm _not_ saving you."

"Wanna bet? Why don't I try?"

"Don't you _dare_."

Xena smiled as Ford sat down beside her. She had only been in prison for a few days, and it felt like from prison to _paradise_ already! Gosh, she would never take being at home for granted. Ever. She looked back into the water, admiring Ford's distorted reflection, finding herself completely occupied with thinking about the times she had met him. They reeled back until she collided with one of her most disliked ones, causing her to frown suddenly. She knew she had to ask or _she_ would have a hard time sleeping, and she loved her sleep, thank you.

"Ford?"

"Yup?"

"Y'know Rose?"

"_That_ Roselia?" He sounded miffed. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Heard from someone"—she couldn't remember if it was from Zuzure or Edolie; probably Zuzure—"that she confessed to you one day."

"Uh-huh."

"You... told her you liked someone, didn't you?"

"Yup."

"Was that a lie?"

"Yes."

Feeling thoroughly relieved, Xena relaxed and looked up into the sky, giddy with relief. He made her so anxious. Maybe she _should_ go and sleep early, so Candice would have a nice, sweet dream about berries... and food... and stuff...

Before she could open her mouth to tell him "goodnight", she found two arms wrapped around her tightly. She gawked, having no other reaction.

"I love you."

* * *

**A/N:** Well that was terribly awkward to write. Not to mention rushed, since I'm completely out of time.

(NO KISSING. DO YOU THINK PEOPLE KISS EVERY TIME THEY CONFESS? THE WORLD AIN'T LIKE THAT, SWEETIE. NOT SAYING THEY DON'T, BUT SOME DON'T.)

And so, here we conclude one of my shortest fanfictions ever...

...

Nah, I'm just screwing with you guys.

EPILOGUE TIME.

Bye bye.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Aw, crap, here's the _real_ last chapter. :( Well, let's save the sappy stuff for after the chapter, huh?

* * *

"...And that is how I met your father."

"It sounds corny," the Braixen snorted, folding her arms and lifting her snout into the air. "He saved your _life_? Mom, isn't that _too_ cheesy?"

"Well, it's not," the Delphox replied, poking the Fennekin's forehead. She yelped lightly. "Because it's real—very realistic my dear—_Zuzure_!"

"Sorry, Xena!" the Azumarill called back. "Benjamin wanted to learn Water Pulse! I couldn't resist teaching him early—OH! Yes, exactly like that!" she screeched as a attack somewhat similar but not quite Water Pulse hit the tree.

Xena sighed, plopping the Fennekin—Charmaine—on the grassy ground, before standing up and hollering, "_Ford_! Zuzure's messing with the kids again!"

"Just let her be," the lazy Greninja replied from the tree. "If Benjamin learns Water Pulse early, then all the better."

"What kind of—"

"_He did it_! Xena, your child is a _prodigy_! He learned Water Pulse early within four hours!" Zuzure shrieked. Xena walked over to the aqua rabbit and sighed, swooping her Froakie, Benjamin, from the ground.

"While stressing his throat because his stomach can't produce enough water to learn the move early. You could have left him to learn it as he grows. Do you need to drink any water, sweetheart?"

Zuzure grabbed a cup from the outdoor shelf and spat drinkable water inside. "Aunt Zuzure has it completely covered! Don't you _like_ learning moves early, Benjamin? It's a shame your father got seriously sloppy!"

A transparent shuriken shot her way. "I did not get sloppy!" Ford yelled from the tree. "I just do not feel like doing _anything_!"

Xena snorted. "Well, sweetheart, Aunt Zuzure is going to go home now—"

"I am _not_, Xena! You _liar_! Benjamin, your mother is a _liar_!"

"—so you'll stay indoors with Aunt Ria. Go on!"

"Love you, Ben!" Zuzure hollered as she skipped away.

"Love—you too, Aunt Zuzure!" Benjamin yelled back as Xena dumped him on the porch and shooed him inside.

If things weren't obvious, Xena had officially been mated to Ford, and then suddenly, all her friends came clamoring to her. Zuzure had magically become their neighbor after they got their own house, Edolie and Ria then decided to come in and decided to live with her for convenience's sake.

Funny.

"Oh, crap—sorry, Zuzure, can you come back?"

"You just chased me away!"

"Just come back!"

Zuzure huffed and skipped back towards the house. "Keep Benjamin entertained, will you? I forgot Ria is whipping up that secret stew." Xena pointed towards the Froakie on the porch, resting on the chairs already.

The Azumarill saluted, marching over and picking up the Froakie.

"Having kids is annoying," she muttered under her breath, slumping down on a chair tiredly. "I don't know how Zuzure can stand them..."

"NINETY-NINE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL~!"

"Does that mean I'm annoying?" Chantal, Xena's Braixen, questioned boredly, sitting on the chair next to hers.

"NINETY-NINE BOTTLES OF BEER~!"

"Yes, honey. I hope it'll be better in the future," Xena replied shortly.

"TAKE ONE DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND~!"

"Did your mother feel that way too?"

"NINETY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL~!"

"Probably, she never brought up things like that in front of me," Xena sniffed, patting her daughter's head. "I could tell she was miffed, though."

"NINETY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL~!"

Chantal grinned. "Is Aunt Candice a Delphox?"

"NINETY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER~!"

Xena whipped around. "_Zuzure_!" she screeched. "Stop singing so loudly!"

Zuzure bowed apologetically. "Sorry, sorry! Benjamin told me to do something lame. Couldn't resist! Who _doesn't_ know that one? 'Cause your little Ben doesn't! What have you been teaching him?"

"Not me," Xena flared. "It's _Ford_ who's supposed to be doing something, and all he does is laze around in that tree—which he's not even in anymore!"

If you happen to be completely lost: Xena and Ford were mated together, had little kiddies, and got three of them. Yay. So happy. Xena is a Delphox now to boot, and Ford is a Greninja.

Zuzure snorted, folding her arms. "Benjamin, what does your mother even say to you?"

"She tells me Papa is a lazy bum."

"_Xena_!" Zuzure shot incredulously.

"_Shut up_!" Xena yelled back.

"So is Aunt Candice a Delphox?" Chantal asked impatiently.

"Huh—oh, yes, she is. She moved out of the village with my parents, though. They come to visit once in a while, don't you remember? They were there when Benjamin was hatching!"

"_Stew is ready_!"

"Coming!" Xena hollered back, picking Chantal up and running into the house.

Edolie helped Ria put the pot on the table, and Xena let Chantal down on one of the chairs. She whirled around. "So _there_ you are! Can't you have more responsibility and look after the children?!" she demanded to the Greninja who was reading the news on the couch.

"I am," he protested. "Today's my day off. _You agreed_."

Xena's eye twitched before she sighed. She folded her arms before heading to the dining table. Ria scooped a spoonful into Xena's bowl, then sat back down and began slurping down her own soup.

Zuzure ate in one slurp and joined Ford on the couch, where they began mulling over about how sunny it was these days, and that the creek was drying up, with the Azumarill positively saying it would rain in a few days, and Ford being pessimistic again and saying the clouds would be blown somewhere else.

"I'm going out, Zuzure!" Xena called to the aqua rabbit who bobbed her head in reply, digging through the newspapers to see if anything interesting had happened. Xena frowned slightly before exiting the house, then followed the path down to the forest. She slowly walked through the thick clumps of trees, occasionally snapping a twig under her foot. Completely silent. Just like always. She quickly scampered down to the creek, before spotting Mather's home, then dug out a piece of meat and throwing it into the water.

"Thanks, Xena!" Mather called back, popping out. "Are you doing well?"

"Fairly."

"I see. Well, I need to head back home, now that I see you're okay. See you tomorrow!"

"Mm-hm."

The Delphox watched as Mather swum back into the underwater cave and began walking along the slippery bank. She walked, kicking up the stones and watching them fly, laughing giddily when some landed in the water. She blinked down at the rocks, before gawking stupidly, then reached down, and picked it up.

The same stone, the one with patterns from erosion, _had washed back up on shore_.

_Didn't I throw this into the creek nine years ago?_ she pondered, turning it around to observe it. Looked the same as ever. She smiled, fondly recollected the time her friends had rescued her from those treacherous Houndoom. The way they had actually _bothered_.

She thought about the things she hadn't known then and was happening now. Apparently, Ford did something and got Edolie's brother seriously injured, and because he didn't want to hear her squawk at him and tell him off, he ignored her.

Viper had eventually been set right after Zuzure won a sumo-wrestler competition against him.

Ria had picked up cooking and had made unusual—but still delicious—recipes, when she would shriek at the sight of fire in the past.

Tucking away the pretty stone in her pouch, Xena flopped down onto the bank, uncaring about the mud and the wetness, staring into the opposite side. She sighed, before thinking about the amaryllises in their garden which Ford had planted. Did he even take care of them properly?

Oh well, they weren't wilting, so she assumed he was.

"Out here again?"

Xena rolled her eyes and nodded. "Just felt like thinking about what happened."

Ford let out a snort—which didn't exactly sound like a snort, he wasn't very good at that. "I thought you didn't like thinking about that. You told me the prison was 'turd dirty' and the meals consisted of pumpkin soup and a slice of bread."

"Yeah, that's true! But I like thinking about how you guys _saved_ me," she explained. "And then about after that and how I asked you about Rose—and then... and then..."

"Don't continue. I feel embarrassed."

"Fine."

Xena thought further back on the days when she had been running from Houndoom—turns out they were scared of her stealing Doom Charms from them. She nearly laughed when they had said that, but kept herself from doing that in front of the Mega Houndoom.

She supposed she was a sort of thief.

She was the thief of Ford's heart, wasn't she?

Xena laughed and pulled Ford into a silent hug, to which he choked on and struggled for air in one of her death hugs. She laughed and pulled him up, dragging him back to the house, bombarding him with questions such as, "Did you water the amaryllises?" to which he would reply with constant, "Yup"s, all the while with Xena thinking a single thought and mentally laughed at how a hypocrite she was when she told Ford "she didn't steal", because—

_She was the magic thief of his heart._

* * *

**A/N:** And... that's done! Yup, people, this is the real ending (not the sloppy ending in the last one, which wasn't even an ending)! Pretty fast how it went, but you have a general idea on what happened.

(IT WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA TO SHOW NINE YEARS INTO THE FUTURE!)

Honestly, to begin with, I thought I would definitely get 0 reviews on this one, BUT YOU GUYS PROVED ME WRONG. I was thinking "who would read BraixenxFrogadier?" but published it anyway, and then... BOOM! 7 reviews, 3 favorites, and 6 followers! I SHOULD NEVER HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU GUYS!

So, let us show GRATITUDE!

Thank you to **Pens-are-my-Shurikens**, a Guest, and **EeveeVictini54** for reviewing! You guys spurred me on with your encouraging reviews! :D

Thank you to **Pens-are-my-Shurikens**, **EeveeVictini54** and **kcperidot** for clicking the favorite button!

Thank you to **EeveeVictini54**, **Kyosplosion**, **LimitlessHorizon**, **Shinyesp**, **alaskan anime girl** and **kcperidot** for following! Lets me know you're interested.

Well, that's all I can do for you now. If you're interested in more BraixenxFrogadier, you can head over to my new story, "Wilted", or just write one your own.

Bye bye! Bell Marilli won't forget ya!

-Bell Marilli


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